9-58 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Dec. 



der was restored, and the burly fellow aft- 

 erward became one of his best pupils. Be- 

 sides this, the teacher received the praise of 

 the directors. 



The next hobby of A. I. Root was clock 

 work and jewelry. Having learned the 

 trade he decided to go into business. Ac- 

 cordingly he went to a friend and asked him 

 if lie would loan him a sum of money for a 

 certain length of time. This friend gave 

 him some advice which he has been glad of 

 ever since. It was this : He would loan him 

 the money if he wished, but he would ad- 

 vise him to work his way up into business, 

 l^nlike most boys, the embryo business man 

 accepted the latter, and his success in busi- 

 ness life proves the wisdom of tlie advice. 

 Shortly after engaging in the jewelry busi- 

 ness he was married (in 1861) to Miss Susan 

 Hall. Imbued with a natural love for his 

 work, and endowed with almost ceaseless 

 energy and push, his business began to 

 prosper. Ere long in the providences of 

 time, a new rootlet sprang forth, of which 

 I am told the parent branch was exceeding- 

 ly proud. That was in 1862, and the boy, 

 now a man grown, sometimes signs himself 

 Ernest. The business continued to prosper 

 until A. I. Root & Co. were among the 

 largest manufacturing jewelers in the coun- 

 try. From 200 to 500 dollars in coin w^ere 

 weekly made into chains and rings. The Arm 

 employed something over a dozen men and 

 girls in the manufacture of gold and silver 

 rings, chains, etc. In 1865 his daughter 

 Maude, now Mrs. J. T. Calvert, was born into 

 the family. It was about this time that the 

 first swarm passed over his jewelry estab- 

 lishment. As this, together with his other 

 bee-keeping experience, is fully given in the 

 Introduction to the A B C, I omit it. 



About this time he began to write for the 

 American Bee Journal, under the very sug- 

 gestive and appropriate nom de plume of 

 "• Novice." In these papers, as some of the 

 old veterans will remember, he recounted 

 some of his failures and some of his success- 

 es with bees. The articles seemed to take 

 well, and, in the due course of time, so 

 many inquiries came in that he resolved to 

 start a quarterly bee-journal, entitled 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture. No sooner 

 was the first issue put forth than he deter- 

 mined to make his little journal a monthly. 

 Very soon after, the manufacture of bee- 

 keepers' supplies was begun in connection 

 with the jewelery business. With the 

 windmill as a motive power, and a buzz-saw. 

 " Novice," with the occasional assistance of 

 the writer, made Simplicity hives. Some- 

 times the wind wouldn't blow and orders 

 had to wait. I well remember on several 

 occasions of getting up in the night when a 

 breeze started up, to " help pa " saw the 

 boards. I holding one end while he managed 

 the other. As orders began to come it was 

 thought a foot-power buzz-saw would do 

 what tlie wind would not. A Barnes was 

 ordered, and wind and foot power were 

 made to answer for a while. To make a 

 long story short, the supply-business contin- 

 ued to grow at such a rate tliat a little en- 

 gine was ordered. This likewise was inad- 

 equate, and finally it was found necessary 



to engage a night force and run night 

 and day. Things continued thus for a 

 couple of seasons, when the jewelry 

 business and the building " up town " was 

 sold (1877), and in its stead another larger 

 was erected near the depot. This is shown 

 on the first page of the A B C of Bee Culture. 

 As the subsequent growth of his business is 

 already given fully in the Introduction of 

 the work just mentioned, I omit it here also. 



In business matters he is prompt and de- 

 cisive. Goods by return train, and corres- 

 pondence by return mail, is his constant aim, 

 although at times such promptness has been 

 physically impossible, for reasons I will not 

 mention. An array of complications often 

 arises in business, but his decision is always 

 prompt and final. With remarkable celerity 

 he will grasp an idea or the gist of an ;irticle. 

 The rapidity with which he will transmit 

 his thoughts on paper is no less remarkable. 

 He will usually dictate four pages of solid 

 printed matter (like this, for instance), in 

 little over an hour, and that, too, through 

 interruptions which he permits of clerks ply- 

 ing him with business questions. While he 

 is attending to his other business the sten- 

 ographer transcribes his thoughts with a 

 type-writer. Sometimes 1 think more delib- 

 eration in dictating might be to his advan- 

 tage ; but he hasn't the time nor strength. 



His activity is almost ceaseless, and his 

 energy often goes beyond the proper limits 

 of strength. He rises early in the morning, 

 and from that time on till bedtime he is 

 " constantly on the go." 1 have often de- 

 sired to see him sit on a hitching-post and 

 "• take it a little easy just for two minutes," 

 but he never has accorded me the pleasure, 

 and it is not at all likely he ever will. He 

 says he would "rather wear out than rust 

 out :" but if the good Lord wills, he will do 

 neither just yet. 



To rest, in the sense of inactivity, is out of 

 the question. That this constant activity, 

 and the wear and worry of a large wholesale 

 and retail business, has necessitated rest, 

 his ill health plainly shows. Young blood, 

 in the personages of J. T. Calvert, Mr. J. S. 

 Warner, your numble servant, and others, 

 has, within the last three or four years, very 

 materially lightened his labors; and for the 

 past five weeks, during his absence they 

 have assumed the entire responsibility. 



Besides the two older children, are Con- 

 stance, Caddie, and, last of all, Huber. 

 This sketch would be incomplete were I to 

 omit mention of the many w^ays that his 

 faithful wife has helped him. in her own 

 quiet, unassuming way, to bear up under 

 his self-imposed tasks ; nor should I forget 

 to lay some of the credit to his good old 

 mother, who still survives. It was she who 

 gave him his early Christian instruction, 

 and who prayed for him many years before 

 he gave his heart to (Jod. 



Some things concerning the life of Mr, 

 Root I have omitted, because they have 

 been given before. But I must ct>nfess, 

 I have not been scrupulously modest in 

 writing up the facts. I have simply told 

 them from the standpoint of another man's 

 son. Without making any apology, I will, 

 therefore, sign myself Ernest, 



